1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to specimen box with one or more through holes for use with an electron microscope, especially to a specimen box with one or more photoelectric elements for use with an electron microscope.
2. Description of Related Art
As known in the prior art, a vacuum environment inside an electron microscope is critical for high resolution and accuracy during the observation of specimens under the electron microscope. Considering the vacuum environment, the conventional electron microscope is usually used to observe the structures of solid substances or specimens, such as dehydrated bio-tissueor dehydrated virus. Hence, the conventional electron microscope has a limitation on the selection of specimens and is invalid for the dynamic observation of specimens. Even the stimuli-induced responses of specimens are unobservable under the conventional electron microscope.
Due to the above-mentioned limitations, the application of the electron microscope is restricted. In order to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks, a specimen box for an electron microscope suitable for the observation of specimens (such as chemical particles, biochemical molecules, or bio-tissues) in a gas or liquid state was proposed. After the specimen is injected into this specimen box, a sealant or a polymer sealant is used for sealing the specimen box. However, the vacuum degree of the electron microscope may be degraded due to the easy evaporation of liquid from the specimen into the vacuum environment through the sealant or the polymer sealant. Accordingly, the resolution and the observation efficiency of the electron microscope would be greatly affected by the above-mentioned factors.
Another specimen box for an electron microscope was also suggested to solve the above issues. The specimen box further includes a gas chamber in addition to the specimen chamber. Accordingly, the gas diffusion or the liquid evaporation from the specimens in the specimen chamber can be inhibited by the pressure equilibrium between the specimen chamber and the gas chamber. However, the inert gas filled in the gas chamber for the pressure equilibrium may affect the observation resolution. In addition, the structure of this specimen box is complicated so the cost is increased.
In all of the current and above specimen boxes, none could be opened again (=reopen) after the specimen boxes are sealed. Due to finite oxygen contained in the closed space, the long-term dynamic changes and the light- or current-induced responses of the specimens cannot be observed under the electron microscope and thus the observation of living tissues or cells is limited.
According to above, providing a specimen box, which has high sealing and reopening features and allows the application of ambient stimuli (such as light, or current), is advantageous to the long-term dynamic observation of specimens in a gas or liquid state and the variation of the observation condition under an electron microscope.